Packers part of growing up in Green Bay

Paul A. Gigot is editorial page editor and vice president of The Wall Street Journal, a position he has held since 2001. He is responsible for the newspaper's editorials, op-ed articles and Leisure & Arts criticism and directs the editorial pages of the Journal's Asian and European editions and the OpinionJournal.com website.

In 2000, Gigot's weekly column on politics won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he grew up in Green Bay and was quarterback of the De Pere Abbot Pennings Squires when they won the 1971 State Championship of the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, beating Waukesha Catholic Memorial at Lambeau Field.

My Packers

Notable Packers fans from around the world share their stories about the team.

In the nearly 10 years that I've lived in New York City, I've spotted precisely one professional athlete outside stadiums or arenas. Derek Jeter, the Yankee icon, got into a line at a Manhattan Starbucks on a Saturday morning a couple of years ago. A young boy, probably 6 or 7, stared in awe at his hero through a window. Everyone else ignored him. Jeter waited like everyone else, got his coffee, and climbed back into his SUV. That's the way it is in New York, where the fans are devoted in their fashion but more detached from their teams than those of us who cheer the Green Bay Packers.

Growing up in Green Bay in the 1960s and 1970s, I saw Packers all the time. Bart Starr lived a few streets away. Players regularly stopped by my father's pharmacy when I worked there as a stock and delivery boy. The team held training camp at St. Norbert College in De Pere, the town where I went to high school. Vince and Marie Lombardi were regulars at St. Matthew's, my family's Catholic parish for a time, where I still recall sitting next to Vince by coincidence one Sunday and tugging on my mother's coat to acknowledge my brush with fame. Vince gave me a pat on the head. My grandfather was one of those who contributed to keep the Packers in Green Bay in the 1950s and "owned" some of those non-tradable shares, which he passed on to my late father and now on to me and my siblings.

I mention these memories because they help explain why Packer fans feel such a fierce loyalty to the team. The Packers are woven into Green Bay and Wisconsin culture in a way that no other team is, even the Steelers to Pittsburgh. Once you're a Packer fan, you can't possibly root for the Giants or Redskins, never mind the Bears or Vikings.

I'm also struck by how much the Green Bay story rubs off on football fans who aren't from Wisconsin. On my office wall are two classic photos from the Ice Bowl - Boyd Dowler catching a pass, and Bob Jeter and Ray Nitschke going for a fumble. Along with 2 or 3 million others, I was at that game, and the photos are always a talking point for visitors.

"You were there?"

"How cold was it?"

"I was a Cowboys fan so I hated the Packers then. But they're my second favorite team now." I get that last point all the time.

It's been a cold, snowy winter in New York, and I've been wearing my knit Packer hat to keep warm. Everywhere I go, I hear, "Hey, Green Bay." Or "Go Packers."

Whether the Packers win or lose on Sunday, I'll still be wearing the hat on Monday.